Activision Blizzard is In the eye of the hurricane. After it came to light that the state of California has denounced the company for alleged cases of sexual and workplace harassment, the firm led by Bobby Kottick responded with several statements full of criticism. Several Blizzard Entertainment personalities have acknowledged, at least tacitly, that the workplace environment in Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV is not exactly ideal. Now, more than 1,500 employees and former employees have sent a letter to the leaders of the North American giant, in which they have affirmed that they will not be silenced.
“Following the announcement made by Activision Blizzard, and in view of the internal report submitted by Frances Townsend, a group of more than 800 employees of Activision-Blizzard-King and its subsidiaries have come together to take action”A representative told Kotaku. “Over the weekend we have drafted an open letter to our leaders that is gathering signatures across all of our organizations. We have been working on the next steps ”. According to sources in this media, the letter has already been sent.
This is the letter sent to Activision Blizzard
“All of us who have signed agree that the communications from Activision Blizzard and its legal department regarding the DFEH complaint, as well as the internal statement from Frances Townsend, they are horrendous and insulting for all of us who think about what our company should defend. To make it clear: our values as employees are not adequately reflected in the words and actions of our leaders ”, they assure in the letter.
According to the point of view they have expressed, these communiqués have “damaged” their attempts to achieve equality “inside and outside the industry”. For these employees, saying that the complaints that have been made are “distorted and in many cases false” versions builds “An atmosphere” that invites “not to believe the victims”. It also reflects the ineffectiveness of internal mechanisms for abusers to answer for what they have done, while preventing the creation of “a safe environment for victims” for the future. “These statements make it clear that our leaders are not putting values first. It is necessary that there be immediate rectifications from the highest spheres of our organization ”.
This group of employees recalls that executives have pointed out that measures will be taken to protect the victims, but after Activision Blizzard’s reaction to the complaint, “we no longer trust our leaders to put the safety of the employees before their own interests ”. They add to say that this is a “’meritless and irresponsible complaint’ while many current and former employees report your own experiences related to bullying and the abuse is simply unacceptable. “
Therefore, they call for managers and bosses to recognize how serious these accusations are and to “Show compassion to the victims”. They call for the resignation of Frances Townsend from her position as executive sponsor of the ABK Employee Women’s Network due to the “damaging nature of her statement.” In addition, they request that the management team work with them in order to create a safe environment that allows them to report this type of practice without retaliation.
“We side with our friends, colleagues and colleaguesas well as dedicated members of our community who have experienced mistreatment or abuse of any kind. We will not be silenced, we will not look the other way and we will not give up until the company we love has a work environment that one is proud to be a part of. We will be the change ”.
Source | Kotaku
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